What Should I Take My Freshman Year At Vanderbilt?
After just choosing classes for my 6th semester at Vanderbilt, I realized that I now know exactly what classes I want to and have to take. Next semester, I am taking two courses for my major, two courses for my minor, and one elective. I now take this knowledge for granted but freshman year, I remember being completely overwhelmed with all my options. This is especially difficult if you’re undecided, as I was freshman year. Here are my recommendations for how to schedule your first semesters at Vanderbilt if you are in the College of Arts & Science:
- Reach out to upperclassmen and see what their favorite intro classes have been! If you don’t know anyone, you can email any of us on the Inside ‘Dores website and we would be happy to help.
- Get your First-Year Writing Seminar out of the way. These seminars are required, but also interesting. There are many different topics offered so choose the one that piques your interest! I took one about music and global health, which sparked my interest in pursuing my current major.
- Get started on your AXLE requirements. These are essentially your general education requirements, and there are many options for each category. Below are some of my recommendations for the liberal arts requirements from personal experience and hearing feedback from my friends:
- HCA – Text & Image, Science Communication Tools & Techniques, The Art of Blogging, Justice
- INT – Any introductory language course, The Holocaust
- US – Country Music, American Popular Music
- MNS – Biology Today, Green Earth, General Logic, Quantitative Methods
- SBS – Negotiation, General Psychology, Autism in Context, Contemporary Social Issues
- P – Sex and Society, Mental Illness Narratives, Human Sexuality
- Don’t overwhelm yourself! Start with 12-15 hours to ease your transition into college.
This is my personal advice, and of course, these recommendations may not work for everyone. Also, you may not always get exactly what you want during registration. However, things usually work themselves out so don’t be afraid to go on a few waitlists and change up your schedule plan!